Libel What it is, why it's a problem for journalists and news organizations.

LIBEL: publish or broadcast communication that lowers the reputation of an individual by holding him/her up to contempt, ridicule or scorn o 1.lots of time and money o 2.otrageous claims sought and won o 3.libel law puzzle o 4.some plaintiffs use a tool to quiet those n press Five things a plaintiff must prove to win a libel suit (and the definition/application for each). It was published o Libeler , libellee and one other person = publication It identified (was cornering) the plaintiff It was defamatory o Injures reputation Is false Defendant was at fault Actual malice Legal definition o Knowledge before publication that the libelous material was false/reckless disregard for the truth Who has to prove it? o Public, public official, celebrities, companies and limited purpose What it means for outcomes Where (what case) it was established and why Knowledge of falsity Reckless disregard for the truth

Negligence: an act or action that a reasonable prudent person would not have committed o No reasonable care of whether its true or false o Private persons Public figure (and why it matters) All-purpose Voluntarily entered a public controversy in an effort to influence public opinion in order to generate a resolution of the issue Limited-purpose Person involved in public controversial before thrust into the news o EX: person against drunk driving then found driving drunk Private person DEFENCES: cannot be sued for libel o Truth o Privileged communications ((medical, lawyer, spouse, certain court proceedings, clergy, priest or pastor, govt officials))

Absolute privilege : Qualified privilege for press if: o An official and public source o Reported fairly and accurately o Source is clearly stated o opinion

Section 230 CDA Immunity for OSPs (as explained in Pember) Passive editing v. active editing (as described by Johnson) Scienter

Anti-SLAPP Laws and (in general terms) Washington's in particular:

Summary judgment: a judgment granted to a party in a lawsuit when the pleadings and other material in the case disclose no material issue of fact between the parties, making it possible for the case to be decided on the basis of the law by the court. o A summary judgment avoids a costly jury trial Absolute privilege : an immunity form libel suits granted to government officials and others based on remarks uttered or written as part of their official duties Qualified privilege : the privilege of the reporter (or any persons) to publish a fair and accurate report of the proceedings of a public meeting or public document and be immune from lawsuits for the publication of libel uttered at the meeting or contained in the document Opinion: fair comment and criticism (rhetorical hyperbole, pure opinion) o Language is so expansive that the reader or listener knows it is only an opinion that it is not as assertion of fact o Political and social discourse Rhetorical hyperbole: obvious exaggeration Ollman test for distinguishing opinion from fact: o 1) Can the statement be proven true or false o 2) What is the common meaning of the words? o 3) What is the journalistic context of the remark? o 4) What is the social context of the remark? Lecture facts Debates opinion Statute of limitations: a law that requires that a legal action must being within a specified period of time (usually one to three years) after the legal wrong was committed

single publication rule: says the entire edition of a newspaper or magazine or Web posting is a single publication and one republication of that same material months/years later does not mean republication, which would restart the statute of limitations Retraction : an apology AND an effort to set the record straight o a statement published or broadcast that attempt to retract or correct previously published or broadcast libelous matter o A timely retraction will usually mitigate damages retraction laws: 33 states have some kind of retraction laws Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress (IIED): Single mistake rule: a rule that states that it is not libelous to accuse a professional person or businessperson of making a single mistake o EX: Dr. Jones incorrectly diagnosed the patients illness Unexpected libel plaintiff (Bruce Johnson): Cases Know the facts, court reasoning and legal impact of: New York Times v. Sullivan (1964)

actual malice: 1. knowledge of falsity 2. reckless disregard for the truth 1. this case really had to do with seditious libel 2. in America citizens are encouraged to take part in debates on public issues 3. when people like Sullivan take a gov't job they should expect that the public will watch and criticize them closely

Know the legal precedents that emerged from: Masson v. The New Yorker, Inc. (1991) :: pg: 175, 192 o Psychoanalyst Masson sued New Yorker o Malcolm interviews Masson for an article that turned into a book o Masson objected to many of the comments attributed to him as direct quotes, claiming that Malcolm changed his words that she fabricated statements These statements made him look foolish Sued for defamation Masson was a public figure had to prove actual malice Argued that changing his words in the direct quotes was evidence of knowledge of falsity o RULING: Lower court agree with Masson Supreme Court reversed the decision in a 7-2 ruling The court ruled that readers do presume that words containing within quotation marks are a verbatim reproduction of what the subject said o Nevertheless to demand that the press meet such a high standard is unrealistic If every alteration of quotes constituted the falsity required to prove actual malice journalism would need a radical change Unable to present evidence that Malcolm had knowledge of falsity Lost Curtis Publishing Co. v. Butts (1967) : pg: 170,177,193-5 o Wally Butts sued Saturday Evening Post for an article that said that the GeorgiaAlabama game was fixed The post obtained its information from a man who said he accidentally overhead the conversation Story was based on observers recollection o Story was NOT hot news for it was published months after the actual game The magazine had ample amount of time to check o Both Butts and Bryant (Alabama) has strong reputations for integrity Privacy How privacy compares and contrasts with libel o Privacy: young and still developing o Libel: existed for several centuries o Privacy: varies from state to state completely o Libel: easier to make generalizations Privacy suits: Why people sue and when the press needs to worry Four different privacy torts, their tests and defenses o Appropriation

o Intrusion o Private facts o False light Appropriation: taking a persons name, picture, photograph or likeness and using it for commercial gain without permission o Private people and celebrities Consent: individuals that agree to the publication of a libelous story or the appropriation of their name cannot then maintain a lawsuit based on libel or appropriation Right to privacy: (commercialization) Personal right Protected individuals from EMOTIONAL HARM (embarrassment) o Suit dies with person Right of publicity Property right For celebrities, protects ECONOMIC VALUE o Often survives death Cant libel Michael Jackson cause he is dead but you can libel a part of him (corporation or heir) o Protects more that the name and the image EX: voice, character of someone Incidental use doctrine: permits a fleeting or brief use of an individuals name or likeness in some kinds of commercial creations to address concerns that penalizing every unauthorized use, no matter how insignificant or fleeting or a persons name or likeness would impose undue burdens on expressive activity o no for endorsement or promotion of any product or service ie: Amazon book cover Booth rule : provides protection to the mass media in most states if an individuals name or likeness is used in advertising for a particular information medium The use of a persons name or likeness in an advertisement FOR a magazine/newspaper/TV program is usually not regarded as an appropriation if the photograph or name has been or will be a part of the mediums news or information content Republication or rebroadcast of material Intrusion: illegal to intrude, physically or otherwise, where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy o Focus on exclusively on how information is assembled o EXAMPLES: eavesdropping, gathering information from an individuals private records, telephoto lens = intrusion Use of recording devices Dietemann: practice medicine in his home without a licenses Cassidy and the massage parlor Lawyer and client

Private v. public property You are allowed as long as you are standing on public property (ie: sidewalk) If anyone can see it o Ie: golfing on your front lawn Whatever a passerby would see Illegally intercepted material Publication of private information : no liability for intrusion could be assessed against the publisher of that material so long as it had been obtained innocently o Three part test 1) private facts 2) highly offensive to a reasonable person 3) not of legitimate public concern or interest o Private facts Publicity to private facts: o 1) there must be publicity to private facts about an individual o 2) the revelation of this material must be offensive to a reasonable person o 3) the material is not of legitimate public concern Legitimate public concern Public interest trumps offensiveness False light : publication of false, derogatory information o It is illegal to publicize material that places an individual in a false light if: 1) the false light in which the individual was placed would be offensive to a reasonable person and 2) the publisher of the material was at fault when the publication was made o Embarrassing or humiliating o Offensive: o Fault: probably actual malice Possible negligence to private persons Burden of proof on plaintiffs o Falsity often occurs through: Sloppy editing Misuse of photos Fictionalizing, sensationalizing